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| clts:community_land_trusts [2026/03/10 21:36] – dave | clts:community_land_trusts [2026/03/12 20:41] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
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| > "Community land trusts lock in value for the benefit of their communities for the long term." - Anthony Collins Solicitors | > "Community land trusts lock in value for the benefit of their communities for the long term." - Anthony Collins Solicitors |
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| **History** | **History** |
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| The thread of inspiration for CLTs is fascinating. The roots lie in the [c](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Society_of_Equitable_Pioneers)[o-operative movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Society_of_Equitable_Pioneers) in the UK in the 19th century. Their ideas influenced [Ebenezer Howard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Howard) and his garden cities in the early 20th century, which were intended to be ‘co-operative land societies’ with any surplus ploughed back into civil facilities and affordable housing, although it didn’t turn out that way. This influenced the Gandhian [Bhoodan-Gramdan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhoodan_movement) movement in India in the 1950s, that gifted over 1 million acres to be held in trust for landless peasants. This in turn inspired Martin Luther King, and the first official CLTs emerged from the civil rights movement - like [New Communities Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Communities), formed in 1969 in rural Georgia for African American ex-[sharecroppers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharecropping). The first urban CLT was set up in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1981, and CLTs started to take off in the US in the 1990s. | The thread of inspiration for CLTs is fascinating. The roots lie in the [co-operative movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Society_of_Equitable_Pioneers) in the UK in the 19th century. Their ideas influenced [Ebenezer Howard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Howard) and his garden cities in the early 20th century, which were intended to be ‘co-operative land societies’ with any surplus ploughed back into civil facilities and affordable housing, although it didn’t turn out that way. This influenced the Gandhian [Bhoodan-Gramdan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhoodan_movement) movement in India in the 1950s, that gifted over 1 million acres to be held in trust for landless peasants. This in turn inspired Martin Luther King, and the first official CLTs emerged from the civil rights movement - like [New Communities Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Communities), formed in 1969 in rural Georgia for African American ex-[sharecroppers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharecropping). The first urban CLT was set up in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1981, and CLTs started to take off in the US in the 1990s. |
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| Inspired by the success of CLTs in the States, pilot projects were run in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century. The [National CLT Network](http://www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk/) was launched in 2010 to promote and support CLTs across the country. Now there are hundreds of CLTs in both the US and UK, and movements have begun in other countries too – notably Australia, Belgium, France and Italy, as well as individual projects in Africa and Latin America. | Inspired by the success of CLTs in the States, pilot projects were run in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century. The [National CLT Network](http://www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk/) was launched in 2010 to promote and support CLTs across the country. Now there are hundreds of CLTs in both the US and UK, and movements have begun in other countries too – notably Australia, Belgium, France and Italy, as well as individual projects in Africa and Latin America. |
| ## Related topics | ## Related topics |
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| - [Commons economy](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/coec/commons_economy) | - [Commons economy](coec:commons_economy) |
| - [Building societies](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/bsoc/building_societies) | - [Building societies](bsoc:building_societies) |
| - [Community](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/comy/community) | - [Community](comy:community) |
| - [Commoning](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/comg/commoning) | - [Commoning](comg:commoning) |
| - [Co-operatives](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/coop/co-operatives) | - [Co-operatives](coop:co-operatives) |
| - [Housing co-ops](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/hcoo/housing_co-operatives) | - [Housing co-ops](hcoo:housing_co-operatives) |
| - [Planning permission](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/plan/planning) | - [Planning permission](plan:planning) |
| - [Retrofitting & refurbishment](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/retf/retrofitting) | - [Retrofitting & refurbishment](retf:retrofitting) |
| - [Housing commons](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/hoco/housing_commons) | - [Housing commons](hoco:housing_commons) |
| - [Low-impact building](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/buil/building) | - [Low-impact building](buil:building) |
| - [Cohousing](https://knowledge.growingthecommons.org/doku.php/coho/cohousing) | - [Cohousing](coho:cohousing) |
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| ## Specialist curators of this topic | ## Specialist curators of this topic |
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